diogenesian discourse

The keyboard is mightier than the machine gun... The political, philosophical and general outpourings of a troubled soul living in Australia and blogging his Vietnam veteran's head off.

Nothing in this blog can be believed. If you think that
anything in this blog is true or factual, you'll need to verify
it from another source. Do you understand? No? Then read it again,
and repeat this process, until you understand that you cannot sue
me for anything you read here. Also, having been sucked into taking
part in the mass-murder of more than 3 million Vietnamese people
on behalf of U.S. Big Business "interests", I'm as mad as a cut snake (and broke) so it might be a bit silly to try to sue me anyway...

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

on using plain english...

Communication... What is the intent of our way of communicating? That's what I'm on about here. To highlight the issue, I'll identify three types of communicator:

The Plain Speaker: Intends to be understood by as wide a spectrum of people as possible.

The Intellectual Snob: Intends to exclude "the uneducated" or put himself above his readers/listeners by using big words like some sort of code intended only for the illuminati (sorry for the big word here, but if you don't understand it, you can piss off!).

The Obfuscator: Uses big words to confuse or to avoid having his arguments or statements challenged. The obfuscator is often an intellectual snob trying to get away with a bit of intellectual dishonesty rather than admit his error in logic.

Both here in the blogosphere and at cocktail parties, Plain Speakers are a rarity, vastly outnumbered by Intellectual Snobs and Obfuscators. When forced into "polite" conversation with such low-life, Intellectual Snobs and Obfuscators will quickly put Plain Speakers in their place and thereby quite rightly silence them.

Have you noticed this?

Is it any wonder I'm so hostile?

And then they say, "You're hostile, Gerry. Calm down or we won't talk with you."

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Update: A new species has been identified:

The Sycophant: Pores over dictionaries and all sorts of "authoritative" texts and websites, and hangs on every word The Intellectual Snob utters, in order to "learn the lingo" well enough to impress the pants off his hero. He's the guy who almost throws his neck out nodding enthusiastically every time The Snob speaks.

Late Update: Expert opinion just obtained by this blogger indicates that an incredibly large percentage of Intellectual Snobs adopt the arrogant and superior stance they do as a result of subconscious overcompensation for a huge undiagnosed inferiority complex.

11 Comments:

Growing up and growing old is a complicated business when it comes to 'communicating' to a broad range of people.

I like what Tom Lehrer has to say on the subject "If you cannot communicate the very least you can do is to shut up about it".

Gerry I'm angry too--when I think about 'it' ie the world and the people in it and what a monunumental fuck up it is, but when I don't think, ie when I put my self in my feeling centre, I'm actually quite at peace.

Its a fucking dilemma because whether its of value or not I always end up thinking. You know the one. I have a 'thinking' problem.

I'm still having trouble getting atheists to see that they are, by and large, intellectual snobs.

Of course, you may not be so happy in knowing that I also lump them in with another species known as Religious Fanatics.

No offence intended towards you, Nora, but given the amount of offence athiests and other religious fanatics dish out to those of a different belief, I don't care if they get offended. I just call that quid pro quo. It is to them I say, "Offence freely given to those who wish to take it."

Listen, about these Queenslander jokes. I was born in Dubbo, hence I support the Blues which has got me into shitloads of trouble of many and various kinds ever since we moved here in 1996. Including a former Minister who wanted to throw me off the government jet...

The counter shown below displays the number of Israeli military personnel refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories. I applaud their integrity and their strength of character. To me they are heroes of peace and humanity.